UCU members rejecting the leadership’s attempt to impose a deal in March

At this time of year, I usually try to provide some kind of an overview, but it feels pretty far beyond me at the moment. A few people have mentioned how long this year’s felt, and how it feels strange to realise that the tide pod meme and the losses of Mark E Smith and Ursula K LeGuin were all this year. These notes will be pretty heavily UK-centric, so look elsewhere for reflections on recent events in Haiti, Iran, China or Russia.

In the year ahead, we can hope for more moments that look like the mass strike against Glasgow council, but I strongly suspect we’ll find ourselves caught up in more and more three-way (or more!) fights. If every British leftie’s dream for the new year comes true, and we do get something that looks like our version of the yellow vest movement, then just like our comrades in France, I suspect we’ll need to be in struggle with the people we’re marching alongside every bit as much as the authorities that we’re marching against.

Oh, and I realise that this post hasn’t said much, or indeed anything, about Brexit, but let’s be honest, is there anyone out there really thinking “God, I haven’t read or heard enough about Brexit lately?”

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About nothingiseverlost

"The impulse to fight against work and management is immediately collective. As we fight against the conditions of our own lives, we see that other people are doing the same. To get anywhere we have to fight side by side. We begin to break down the divisions between us and prejudices, hierarchies, and nationalisms begin to be undermined. As we build trust and solidarity, we grow more daring and combative. More becomes possible. We get more organized, more confident, more disruptive and more powerful."